Adrian Farrugia has been implicated by Italian investigators in a match-fixing ring.

Monitoring of friendly football games to watch out for match-fixing has become more relevant after last May’s scandal in Italy, according to the Malta Football Association’s anti-corruption officer.

Franz Tabone, MFA integrity officer, told the Times of Malta the association had asked its international betting monitor, Sportradar, four years ago to keep tabs on all pre-season friendly matches.

So far, the association had not been notified of any irregular betting patterns, Mr Tabone said, pointing out that the measure was a precautionary move.

“Whether iGaming companies suspend betting on particular matches is entirely up to them but Sportradar will issue warnings if it suspects irregular patterns,” he said. Sportradar will also inform the MFA of any suspicious gambling patterns, though Mr Tabone acknowledged the difficulty of obtaining proof that matches had been fixed unless players spoke up.

At least two Maltese nationals with connections to Maltese football clubs, brothers Adrian and Robert Farrugia, were in May implicated by Italian investigators in a match-fixing ring that targeted games from Italy’s lower divisions. They have not yet been charged or called in for questioning by the Italian and Maltese police.

Adrian Farrugia is still linked to Mosta FC, the organisers of the Malta Summer Cup tournament that started on July 19. The Summer Cup is the first major pre-season tournament that sees six Premier League clubs face off.

Mr Tabone said the MFA could do nothing to stop the Farrugia brothers from getting involved with clubs because they were not charged or indicted by the police. “Adrian Farrugia is still involved with the Mosta team and, unless he is charged or indicted by the police, the MFA can do nothing.”

He confirmed that the MFA had asked the Italian authorities for a copy of the documentation linking the Maltese pair to the ‘Dirty Soccer’ investigation but this had not yet been delivered.

Match-fixing is not about the big games but about those that are low key

The other major tournament is the Summer Friendship Cup organised by Luxol St Andrews, which started yesterday. This tournament will see four Premier League clubs and four Division One teams square off against each other.

Mr Tabone said these tournaments, where nothing was at stake, provided fertile ground for match-fixing. “Match-fixing is not about the big games but about those that are low key.”

He said the MFA’s approach was to educate on the damage done by match-fixing.

“We do monitor and work discreetly but the MFA is not the police and does not have the tools to weed out the problem. It took the anti-Mafia police in Calabria, Italy, nine months of investigations, including phone tapping and monitoring of individuals, to reach the stage we are now in today.”

The system is one where wagers are placed on internet betting sites by people who would have fixed the game to ensure good winnings. Bets are not only placed on the final score but various other permutations such as half-time results, which team scores first and others.

kurt.sansone@timesofmalta.com